The present disclosure generally relates to cleansing products for cleansing the skin and hair. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to liquid cleansing compositions that have a sufficient viscosity to maintain particles suspended in the cleanser, but that may also be used with suitable dispensers, such as pump foam dispensers, to generate foam.
For aesthetic and marketing reasons, it is often desirable for liquid cleansing compositions to be foamable. Consumers often associate foaming cleansers with a better cleansing effect, and a feeling that the cleanser is “working” better than a non-foaming cleanser. Consequently, it is advantageous for a cleanser to be capable of producing voluminous foam when used in connection with either a dispenser, such as a pump foam dispenser, or when shear is applied, such as when rubbed between hands during hand washing.
However, delivery of liquid cleansing compositions through foam producing dispensers has presented many challenges. For instance, it is often desirable for cleansers to include additives such as moisturizers, anti-bacterials, and other skin or hair benefit agents, in addition to cleansing surfactants. However, such additives can interfere with the ability of the composition to foam. Furthermore, certain types of foam-producing dispensers that use porous filters or meshed screens to produce foam may not work well (or at all) with even moderately viscous compositions. Consequently, foamable cleansing compositions currently on the market are water-thin and easily pumped through a foam-producing pump head. However, such water-thin cleansers do not have the capability to suspend particulate additives evenly throughout the cleanser and still produce the volume of foam desired by consumers.
The present disclosure addresses the problems associated with currently available foamable liquid cleansers by providing a cleansing composition with sufficient viscosity to suspend particulate additives relatively homogenously throughout the cleanser, but that may still be used effectively in conjunction with a pump foam dispenser.